Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it received a copy of The Direct Air Services Action Plan Final Report dated February 2000 from Scottish Enterprise National; if so, on what date it received the document; what action it took upon receiving it, and whether any budget was allocated to implement any of the report's recommendations, detailing the reasons behind its response on this matter.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Enterprise Report Direct Air Services Action Plan was commissioned as part of that agency's continuing work to promote new air services to and from Scotland, and to identify and evaluate those routes which are best for the Scottish economy and business. The report did not recommend any action or expenditure by the Scottish Executive.

Cancer

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the effect will be on the leadership of the Beatson Oncology Centre when the current secondment of Dr Bryson comes to a close at the end of September 2002.

Malcolm Chisholm: The recruitment process for the post of Medical Director has commenced.

Communications Bill

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any analysis has been made of the potential impact on Scottish culture and identity of the Communications Bill and, if so, what conclusions have been drawn.

Mike Watson: The Communications Bill is being introduced to provide a new regulatory framework for broadcasting and telecommunications in the UK. It is not designed to have any particular effect on the culture and identity of Scotland, and no such analysis has been carried out.

Drug Misuse

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many seizures of each illegal drug category there were in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99, (c) 1999-2000 and (d) 2000-01, broken down by police force area.

Dr Richard Simpson: The available information is given in the following tables.

  Number of Seizures of Controlled Drugs by Police Force and Drug Type, 1997-20001

  1997

  


Police force2, 3


All4
seizures


Cocaine


Heroin


Ecstasy


Amphet-amines


Cannabis


Other
drugs




Central


599


5


56


13


77


480


39




Dumfries and Galloway


444


1


92


18


61


325


16




Fife


658


9


26


29


103


567


42




Grampian


1,518


29


216


59


178


1,184


142




Lothian and Borders


2,262


25


36


109


398


1,860


258




Northern


552


6


6


8


93


492


14




Strathclyde


9,295


107


1,323


226


1,030


7,077


849




Tayside


1,049


9


15


61


133


857


104




Other authorities


16


1


1


0


2


12


0




Scotland


16,393


192


1,771


523


2,075


12,854


1,464




  1998

  


Police force2,3


All4
seizures


Cocaine


Heroin


Ecstasy


Amphet-amines


Cannabis


Other
drugs




Central


829


8


73


20


52


727


34




Dumfries and Galloway


509


8


140


13


54


341


18




Fife


655


5


54


26


108


551


45




Grampian


1,682


36


270


45


213


1,329


160




Lothian and Borders


2,432


46


130


107


359


2,055


248




Northern


399


4


5


14


58


357


13




Strathclyde


10,045


134


1,709


179


1,102


7,355


1,349




Tayside


1,261


13


43


61


156


1,066


111




Scotland


17,812


254


2,424


465


2,102


13,781


1,978




  1999

  


Police force2, 3


All4
seizures


Cocaine


Heroin


Ecstasy


Amphet-amines


Cannabis


Other
drugs




Central


609


3


91


13


33


493


29




Dumfries and Galloway


415


3


132


11


36


271


17




Fife


537


2


59


23


84


432


23




Grampian


1,468


35


238


105


121


1,125


146




Lothian and Borders


2,762


67


207


177


359


2,275


280




Northern


649


6


21


33


72


566


21




Strathclyde


9,553


206


1,752


324


810


6,965


849




Tayside


1,080


6


31


65


110


919


67




Scotland


17,073


328


2,531


751


1,625


13,046


1,432




  2000

  


Police force2, 3


All4
seizures


Cocaine


Heroin


Ecstasy


Amphet-amines


Cannabis


Other
drugs




Central


332


4


57


14


18


264


8




Dumfries and Galloway


272


8


70


21


13


186


3




Fife


450


13


78


32


42


360


25




Grampian


1,152


36


251


154


38


808


122




Lothian and Borders


2,526


68


305


203


118


2,109


239




Northern


446


3


16


37


18


409


12




Strathclyde


9,650


237


1,964


593


353


7,145


695




Tayside


870


27


42


115


48


692


68




Scotland


15,698


396


2,783


1,169


648


11,973


1,172




  Source: Home Office.

  Notes:

  1. Published data for 2001 are not yet available.

  2. Seizures from joint operations involving HM Customs & Excise and the police are generally recorded by HM Customs & Excise.

  3. Seizures made by the Scottish Crime Squad are recorded by the appropriate police force.

  4. As a seizure can involve more than one drug, figures for individual drugs cannot be added to produce totals.

Drug Misuse

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much financial assistance was allocated for the rehabilitation of drugs misusers in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99, (c) 1999-2000 and (d) 2000-01, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Resources for drug rehabilitation were first provided to local authorities in 2001-02, as part of the £100 million drugs package we announced in September 2000.

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been admitted to hospital as a result of (a) alcohol and (b) drug abuse in each of the last five years and this year to date, broken down by NHS board area.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Information on hospital discharges relates to episodes of in-patient or day case care, rather than individual patients. The same patient may account for several hospital admissions during the course of a year (or across years).

  The recording of alcohol/drug misuse may vary from hospital to hospital. Where suspected, but unconfirmed, it may not be recorded by the hospital.

  The number of discharges for children aged under 16 with an alcohol related or drug misuse diagnosis from acute hospitals, mental illness hospitals and psychiatric units is presented for financial years 1996-97 to 2000-01. Provisional information for 2001-02 is also shown.

  1996-97 to 2001-02 Scottish Hospital1 Discharges1,2,3 For Children Aged Under 16 With Any Mention of Alcohol Related Conditions and Drug Misuse by Area of Residence

  


Area of Residence


Diagnosis5
Discharge Period

 
 
 
 


 

Alcohol Related Conditions1

 
 
 
 


 

1996-97


1997-98


1998-99


1999-2000


2000-01


2001-02




Total


847


863


754


836


841


711




Argyll and Clyde


62


64


60


86


84


53




Ayrshire and Arran


117


109


99


99


84


93




Borders


20


20


24


23


24


28




Dumfries and Galloway


21


33


31


26


29


18




Fife


49


40


42


49


47


41




Forth Valley


33


21


35


34


35


26




Grampian


116


152


110


119


125


107




Greater Glasgow


133


125


110


115


116


104




Highland


43


52


50


45


61


55




Lanarkshire


85


51


59


80


55


44




Lothian


83


102


56


73


67


48




Orkney


1


6


5


6


8


8




Shetland


7


7


8


6


5


4




Tayside


64


68


53


69


80


63




Western Isles


8


5


7


2


15


14




Scotland


842


855


749


832


835


706




Other/Not Known


5


8


5


4


6


5




  


Area of Residence


Diagnosis
Discharge Period

 
 
 
 


 

Drug Misuse1

 
 
 
 


 

1996-97


1997-98


1998-99


1999-2000


2000-01


2001-02




Total


78


85


70


49


58


73




Argyll and Clyde


6


3


3


6


10


9




Ayrshire and Arran


16


29


14


10


8


21




Borders


1


2


5


4


0


2




Dumfries and Galloway


3


2


3


1


3


0




Fife


9


7


13


0


3


5




Forth Valley


3


2


2


2


1


2




Grampian


12


9


9


7


3


4




Greater Glasgow


16


13


7


6


9


15




Highland


1


1


0


2


2


1




Lanarkshire


4


2


4


4


8


3




Lothian


3


10


9


5


7


8




Orkney


0


0


0


0


0


0




Shetland


1


0


0


0


0


0




Tayside


3


5


1


2


3


3




Western Isles


0


0


0


0


0


0




Scotland


78


85


70


49


57


73




Other/Not Known


0


0


0


0


1


0




  Notes:

  Source: SMR01 & SMR04 (valid records only).

  1. Includes acute hospitals, mental illness hospitals and psychiatric units (excludes maternity hospitals).

  2. Transfer cases have been included for acute hospitals.

  3. Includes direct transfers from other psychiatric and those whose status on admission is 'not known' for mental illness hospitals & psychiatric units.

  4. Information on hospital discharges relates to episodes of in-patient or day case care rather than individual patients.

  The same patient may account for several hospital admissions during the course of a year (or across years) and will be counted each time in the table.

  5. Discharges where an alcohol related diagnosis is recorded as either primary or secondary reason for admission to hospital.

  6. Alcohol related conditions are defined by using the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10).

  Alcohol Related Conditions: F10, R780, Y90, Y91, Z637, Z811, Z864, Z714, Z502, T506, Y573, T510, T519, X45, X65, Y15, O354, Q860, P043, Z721, Z133, G621, G721, K860, I426, K70, K292, G312, E52.

  7. Drug Misuse is defined by using the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10).

  Drug Misuse: F11, F12, F13, F14, F15, F16, F18, F19.

Fire Service

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to support the national pay campaign by the Fire Brigades Union and what assessment it has made of poverty levels amongst firefighters and other fire brigade personnel and their families.

Dr Richard Simpson: The Executive has no role in determining fire service pay. Responsibility for firefighter's pay and conditions of service rests with the National Joint Council for Local Authorities' Fire Brigades (NJC) which comprises the fire service employers and the Fire Brigades Union. The Executive is, however, watching developments with interest.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek to have an assault upon a public transport official during the course of his or her employment viewed as an aggravation of the crime, detailing the reasons behind its position on this matter.

Lewis Macdonald: Individuals who are assaulted in the course of their duties are already treated as the victims of an aggravated assault. Procurators Fiscal treat such assaults as being more serious due to the employment status of the victim. The punishment for assault is not fixed in statute. The penalty imposed will depend on the circumstances of each case including the status of the victim.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to take to protect public transport workers from assault and abuse during the course of their employment.

Lewis Macdonald: We are awaiting a report from the Scottish Business Crime Centre about crime on buses, which will make recommendations on the way forward, and we will continue to encourage bus operators and the police to deal with incidents of vandalism and assault with the utmost seriousness.

  Additional resources of £25.5 million will also be provided over the next four years to support the development of a national network of effective community-based programmes for persistent offenders and we have recently launched an action programme that identifies measures to reduce youth offending and build a safer Scotland.

Older People

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the procedure is for electing people to the Older People's Advisory Group.

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people took part in the most recent election to the Older People's Advisory Group.

Mr Frank McAveety: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26975 on 4 July 2002.

Renewable Energy

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultations it has had with, and representations it has had from, Glasgow Airport and the appropriate air traffic control authority in regard to the proposed wind farm at Whitelees and what the outcome was of any such consultations and representations.

Lewis Macdonald: Details of ScottishPower's proposal to construct a 240 megawatt windfarm at Whitelee Forrest were issued on 24 January to a wide range of consultees, including the Civil Aviation Authority and National Air Traffic Services (NATS).

  We received a response from Scottish Airports Ltd on 7 May expressing concerns about the potential impact of the proposed windfarm on the operations of Glasgow Airport.

  Officials met representatives of NATS, the Civil Aviation Authority and Scottish Airports Limited on 24 June 2002 to discuss these concerns.

Renewable Energy

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the recent resignation of the board of Border Biofuels Ltd will have any impact on the contract awarded to the company under the Scottish Renewables Obligation.

Ross Finnie: No. The contract will stay in force for as long as the company remains a going concern.

Scottish Executive Announcements

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current cost per page is of distributing its press releases; how many press releases, including corrections, recall notices, re-issued releases and invitations for media representatives to interview ministers, it has distributed since July 1999; what the total cost has been the cost of distributing these from July 1999 to the present date, and how many of them received any form of media coverage.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has issued 9,319 press releases and media invitations since July 1999. The cost of distributing these releases to up to 100 media outlets was £276,034. All individual press releases are available on the Scottish Executive website. We do not hold central records on the level of media coverage received, which can vary from significant national coverage in print and broadcast media to coverage in local and specialist media.

Scottish Executive Staff

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service posts are (a) wholly and (b) partly funded by charities and when each such post was created.

Mr Andy Kerr: No civil service posts in the Scottish Executive are funded by charities at the current time. The Scottish Executive is currently conducting an exercise to recruit a project officer to provide guidance and environmental information to farm conservation advisers. This is to take forward a project of joint interest to the Scottish Executive, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (a charity), and will be jointly funded by each of these organisations.

Scottish Executive Staff

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on the funding of civil service posts from external sources.

Mr Andy Kerr: Civil service posts are not normally funded from external sources. Any proposal for an externally funded post would be determined by the circumstances of the individual case. Any such appointment to the civil service would operate within the framework of conduct, propriety and impartiality provided by the Civil Service Management Code and the Civil Service Code. This applies to all civil servants regardless of the funding arrangements governing their post.

Scottish Executive Staff

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the post of Agri-Environment Officer advertised in The Sunday Herald on 19 May 2002, whether the postholder will be a civil servant; who will employ the postholder, and who the postholder's line manager will be.

Mr Andy Kerr: The post of Agri-Environment Officer will be a civil service post within the Scottish Executive's Environment and Rural Affairs Department. The post is jointly funded by the Scottish Executive, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The postholder will be employed by the Scottish Executive and subject to the Scottish Executive's terms and conditions, including the framework of conduct and propriety as set out in the Civil Service Code. The postholder's line manager will be a civil servant within the Scottish Executive's Environment and Rural Affairs Department.

Scottish Executive Staff

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its employees have been absent from work owing to sickness for (a) less than one month, (b) between one and two months, (c) between two and three months, (d) between three and six months, (e) between six and 12 months and (f) longer than a year.

Peter Peacock: Information is given for sickness absence recorded during the year 2001-02. Due to the lag in recording sickness information some recent periods of sickness will not have been counted.

  Figures given are for the total sickness absence accumulated by currently serving officers in the Scottish Executive core departments, in each of the categories requested. All figures are based on working days lost.

  


(a)


2,341


of which 1,590 had a total of less than 5 working days 
  lost.




(b)


139

 



(c)


42

 



(d)


70

 



(e)


39

 



(f)


40

Smoking

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in respect of smoking in enclosed public places that are not covered by the Scottish Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive recently made additional funding available to widen the scope of Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places. The aim is to increase the stakeholder group to include restaurant associations, coffee chain outlets, fast food outlets, clubs and discos, bingo halls, ice-rinks, shopping centres and local authority premises.

  In addition, through, for example, the activities of the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS), ASH Scotland and Scottish Health At Work (SHAW), we are keen to encourage employers to provide a health-promoting environment in the workplace. At present 726 workplaces are affiliated to SHAW accounting for 21% of workplaces in Scotland. These include diverse work areas such as airports, shopping centres, universities, schools and local authorities, many of which are open to the public. Criteria for attaining the SHAW Bronze award includes the implementation of smoking policies and promotion of smoke-free environments where non-smoking should be the norm.

Smoking

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take if the Scottish Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places target of 49% of licensed premises having non-smoking provision is not met.

Malcolm Chisholm: Signatories to the Voluntary Charter include the licensed, tourism and hospitality sectors. They agreed a target that 49% of their premises would offer non-smoking provision by the end of 2002. It is too early to say whether this target will be met although interim results are encouraging. The Scottish Executive has contributed £56,000 towards the cost of rolling-out the charter this year and monitoring take-up and implementation.

Teachers

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what extra funding it has made available to Argyll and Bute Council to implement in full the requirements of the McCrone settlement.

Peter Peacock: From the total provision agreed with COSLA, Argyll and Bute Council received £3.1 million during 2001-02, £4.6 million in the current year and will receive a further £6.7 million next year. These allocations include adjustments of £0.3 million, £0.5 million and £0.7 million for the additional costs of small schools. Argyll and Bute is also receiving £1.3 million, £1.4 million and £1.4 million of Special Islands Needs Allowance over the three years towards its specific islands costs, including education. In addition, the council has received £140,000 this year for Continuing Professional Development costs for teachers and will receive additional allocations for these costs this and next year.

Tourism

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses have utilised VisitScotland's 40 Quality Advisors as referred to in action point 12 of its Tourism Framework for Action 2002-05 .

Mike Watson: All businesses registered in the VisitScotland Quality Assurance schemes (approximately 10,000 in total) have had at least one visit from VisitScotland's Quality Advisors.

Voluntary Organisations

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how long it takes voluntary organisations to enrol with the Central Registered Body Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: Voluntary organisations will normally be enrolled within three weeks of receipt of the completed enrolment form. This is the case as long as the appropriate documentary evidence, such as confirmation of the lead signatory's identity and relevant policy statements (covering child, or vulnerable adult protection, rehabilitation of offenders details and secure handling and storage of information and details of the organisation's structure, management and funding), are provided at the time of application.

  Delays can occur where any of these items are incomplete or unavailable.

Voluntary Organisations

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how long it takes for checks on volunteers in the voluntary sector working with children, young people and vulnerable adults to be processed by Disclosure Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: Disclosure Scotland has a working agreement to process and return 90% of applications for a disclosure within 10 working days.

Voluntary Organisations

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how information regarding the establishment of the Central Registered Body Scotland was transmitted to voluntary organisations.

Mr Jim Wallace: Following the appointment of the Head of the Central Registered Body Scotland (CRBS) and the Information and Training Officer on 3 January 2002, a number of measures were taken to transmit information to the sector about the work of the unit. This included:

  Leaflets were produced and disseminated to Volunteer Centres throughout Scotland during the first weeks of January 2002 advising interested parties of the contact details of the unit and giving a brief outline of the purpose and function of the unit.

  A register of interested organisations was opened on 3 January 2002 and a substantial number of organisations have since registered.

  Staff of the CRBS participated in a series of 11 seminars arranged by Disclosure Scotland, which were held throughout the country during February and early March 2002.

  In addition CRBS also held 55 seminars and briefings for organisations throughout the country up to the end of May 2002.

  During this time CRBS has also had to address the needs and requirements of national UK organisations by holding briefings and training sessions. CRBS has its own web page within that of Volunteer Development Scotland. Articles have also been prepared and have appeared in Keeping You Posted, the newsletter of Volunteer Development Scotland, and in various other newsletters.